An operating table column of the previously cited type is known, for example from DE 44 23 402 A1. In the solution described in it the plate-shaped head part is connected in its middle via a Cardan joint to the upper end of a guide column. Three linear actuating drives are arranged around the guide column and at a distance from it with which drives the head part can be pivoted about the axes defined by the Cardan joint in order to perform in this manner the adjustment of inclination and of tilting of the patient support surface connected to the head part. The guide column and the three actuating drives are arranged on a carrier that can be adjusted by a separate lifting drive in a vertical direction relative to the column foot. This arrangement of the actuating drives is relatively expensive, requires a relatively large space and allows only a limited adjustment of the head part without the danger of a collision of mechanical parts inside the operating table column.
There is the desire, particular in the case of minimally invasive surgical interventions, to be able to bring the patient on the operating table into a position that allows the operating surgeon to work in an ergonomically advantageous manner. For this, combined movements of inclination and tilting of the patient support surface through large pivoting angles with the lowest possible column height are required.